Resilient headband for spectacles

ABSTRACT

A resilient headband for spectacles providing light tension for retaining the spectacles on the wearer&#39;&#39;s head, comprising a length of rubberlike material having its ends of a larger diameter than the intermediate portion and arranged for securement to the spectacles whereby stretch forces applied to the headband during use result mainly in elongation of the intermediate portion.

United States Patent 15 3,673,610 Liautaud 1 July 4, 1972 [54] RESILIENTHEADBAND FOR 3,588,960 6/1971 McClellan et a] ..24/3 C SPECTACLES P E 72Inventor: Philip J. Liautaud, Hoffman Estates, in. zl fa igggf 73Assigneo: Fendall Company, Chicago, lll. ArwrneyHill, Sherman, Meroni,Gross & Simpson [22] Filed: April 5, 1971 [57] ABSTRACT [21] Appl' L268A resilient headband for spectacles providing light tension for Relateds A i li ti m retaining the spectacles on the wearer's head, comprisinga length of rubberlike material having its ends of a larger diame- [62]Dmslon of ter than the intermediate portion and arranged for securement82194 to the spectacles whereby stretch forces applied to the head- 52us. Cl. ..2/14 v g 'h i gfi f the [51] Int. Cl ..G02c 3/00 [58] Field OfSearch .35 l/155-l 57; 6 Chin, 6 Drawing Figures 2/14 V, 14 A, 14 R,323, 338; 24/3 C [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 2,545,4283/1951 Liautaud ..2/14 V PATENTEDJUL 4 m2 3,673,610

INVENTOR.

P/UL/P J. (mun; up

ATTORNEYS RESILIENT HEADBAND FOR SPECTACLES The present application is adivision of U.S. Ser. No. 776,546, filed Nov. 18, 1968 entitled HeadConforming Spectacles, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,582,194.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Safety goggles and safety spectacles haveordinarily been somewhat heavier than conventional eyeglasses. Thosepersons required to wear safety glasses, as well as those who do withoutsuch a requirement, are continuously searching for a means forsuccessfully rendering the spectacles lighter and more comfortablysecure when in position on the user. Flexible temples of the yieldablemetal type have long been well known in the spectacle art. A springinessis provided in such prior temples to assure that the outermost ends,away from the spectacle frame, are provided with a biasing force tendingto force the outermost ends of the temples tightly against the wearshead. However, many persons, particularly those not accustomed towearing eyeglasses find the pressure of such temples uncomfortable.Further, due to the relatively heavy nature of safety spectacles, it isdifficult to achieve sufficient spring pressure against the wear's headto prevent the spectacles from falling off the wearer during periods inwhich the wearer is facing downwardly. For example, electricians andmany other workmen spend a considerable percentage of their working dayfacing in a downward direction. In the past, such workmen have beenforced to employ safety goggles of the type ordinarily employingrelatively strong rubber type bands for holding the goggles in place.For example, such a goggle arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No.2,545,428. However, such constructions, while effective to maintain thesafety goggle in place, are also relatively uncomfortable over longperiods of time and are a source of constant annoyance to many users.

In order to provide positive means for maintaining a very comfortablesafety spectacle on the wearer, while at the same time absolutelypreventing its accidental removal from the wearers head, a novel,flexible temple is providedin accordance with the present invention isaccomplished by way of a thin'rubberband adjustably secured to the endsof the tem ples of the spectacle in a manner permitting ready tensionadjustment to suit individual wearer dimensions. The extreme stiffnessordinarily accompanying spectacle temples is eliminated in accordancewith the present invention and, in fact, utilization of the structure ofthe present invention readily permits elimination of metal from thespectacle frame and temple combination. This elimination provides afurther reduction in danger to electricians, and the like, who are inconstant danger of electrical shock when wearing spectacles havingconductive frame or temple members.

In solution of the above problems, the present invention contemplatesthe utilization of relatively stiff plastic temple members having aplurality of notches at the extremities thereof providing substantialflexibility at those extremities. Preferably, vertical grooves areprovided at the extremities at the inside surfaces of the temples facingtoward the wearers head, so that the grooves serve the dual function ofproviding flexibility of the temple and also providing a friction detentfor co-operative contact with the wearer. A very thin, highly resilientrubber headband is provided and the flexible extremities of the templesare provided with a simple adjustment whefby the length of the resilientheadband may be modified to cause it so snugly position the templesagainst the wearers head. In a preferred embodiment of the invention,the temples extend beyond the point of maximum transverse dimension ofthe wearer'head so that the resiliently biased inturning extremities ofthe temple provide a substantially positive positioning of thespectacles on the wearer's head. It has been found that by providing avery small, highly yieldable or resilient headband, substantially nopressure is applied to the wearer but at the same time the spectaclesare maintained in a positive way on the wearer.

It is an object of the invention to provide a snug-fitting, comfortablespectacle requiring substantially no metallic components and at the sametime providing substantially universal fit characteristics.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a substantiallynonconducting spectacle capable of comfortable use by electricians, andothers continually faced with visual inspection of objects positionedsubstantially below eye level.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a simple retainingmeans for preventing accidental dislodgement of the spectacles whilebeing worn.

Still other and further objects of the invention will be apparent from aconsideration of the drawings and accompanying detailed description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a pair ofspectacles incorporating an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side-elevational view of one temple constructed inaccordance with the present invention and viewed from the right-handside of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the temple shown in FIG. 2 and furtherillustrating details of construction of the spectacle frame;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a further embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side-elevational view of the securing means illustrated inFIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI- VI of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As may be seen from a consideration of thedrawings, a spectacle frame 10 is provided with a pair of temples l1 and12. The temples are secured by respective hinges 13,14 to the frame 10and each is provided at its outer end with a plurality of verticallyextending or transverse slots 15. The outermost ends of the temples 11and 12 are provided with attachment means generally at 16 forco-operative attachment of the ends of a resilient headband generallyindicated at 18.

The headband 18 may take several forms and may be constructed of variousmaterials. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, however, the bandmay comprise approximately an 8-inch band with an approximately 3-inchcentral section indicated at 19 which central section is of a reducedcross-sectional area. At opposite ends of the reduced section 19 areenlarged diameter cross-section portions 17 which have, in addition totheir larger diameter, a series of molded ball detent portions 17a. Inmy preferred embodiment of the invention, 1 utilize a resilient materialhaving the general yieldability of rubber. For example, a moldablenatural rubber compound of a 50 Durometer has proven eminentlysatisfactory in thus use. Since it is desired that the material beuniformly fonnulated over its entire length, a given tension appliedalong the ends of the band will initially cause a substantialdeformation or elongation of the central portion 19. By providingenlarged diameter ends, manipulation of the ends by stretching them torestrain them in various forms of attachment devices, located at theoutermost ends of the temples, places the attachment under a relativelylarge retaining pressure. This retaining pressure is not reached underordinary usage conditions since stretching of the relatively thinportion 19 of the band provides a very large amount of stretch beforethe tension required for the stretch will provide sufficient deformationof the larger diameter portions to cause slippage of the retentiondevices. It has been found that a relatively uniformly stretchablematerial such as the molded natural rubber compound mentioned above iseminently satisfactory when employed in a strip approximating 8 inchesover-all with a 3-inch reduced diameter center portion of 0.050 inchesdiameter compared to a 0.060 inches outer end diameter.

A preferred embodiment of the means for attaching the resilient headband to the outermost ends of the temples may readily be seen from aconsideration of FIGS. 2 and 3. The outermost end of the temple 12 is,as there shown, provided with a generally longitudinally extending slot20 having a T head portion 21. The width of the slot 20 is less than theportion 17 of the band 18 so that it is required that the portion 17 bestretched sufficiently to reduce the diameter thereof to a widthapproximating the width of the slot 20. In such stretched condition, theportion 17 is pressed into the slot and is retained in position by itsresidual expansion, and by the fact that the ball 17a, being of stilllarger cross-sectional diameter than the portion 17, resists beingpulled through the slot 20 when longitudinal forces are applied to theband. It will be apparent that different wearers will have differenthead circumferences and, accordingly, it will be found that variationsin length of the resilient band will .occur between differing wearers.Withthe utilization of the embodiment of the invention illustrated inFIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the adjustment may readily be made by attaching theresilient band to the temple in the manner above discussed and then,after an adjustment and trail are accomplished, cutting off the excesslength of rubber headband immediately adjacent the ball portion 17a.This permits elimination of any projecting ends of the resilient headbands and provides a final adjustment for any given wearer, since oncean adjustment has been made, there will be substantially no case inwhich a longer headband will become necessary.

As a result of the above construction, the temples 11 and 12 areresiliently biased rearwardly of the wearers head by the resiliency ofthe band Band, at the same time, the resiliency provides a transverseforce tending to bend the outermost ends of the temple, beyond the ear,toward the head of the wearer. The downturned ends 13c of the templeportions extending behind the wearers ears also provide close conformityto the head and give improved alignment of the head band. The provisionof relieved notch portions 15, particularly when coupled with a templematerial of a yieldable sort, such as for example polypropylene,polyethylene, and other similar plastics having a flexiblecharacteristic in thin section, permits the ends of the temples to moveinwardly to grasp the wearers head. Provision of the vertical notches orslots 15 provides not only for this flexibility in the temple but alsoprovides an improved frictional contact between the temple and thewearer. The result of the combination friction contact the resilientsupport by the band 18, provides a spectacle having a very light feel onthe wearers head and at the same time having substantially completelypositive retention on the head of the wearer.

As mentioned above, it is desired that the spectacle of the presentinvention be substantially completely dielectric. Utilization of theresilient, rubber headband provides an attaching system completely freeof electrically or heat-conductive materials. Elimination of metallichinge between individual temples l1 and 12 and the frame eleiminates anypossibility of an electrical hazard. This is a particularly desirablefeature in the present invention since, as above specified, the presentspectacle is of particular advantage for use by welders who arecontinually faced with the problem of working with the safety glassesfacing downwardly. This dielectric construction may preferably, inaccordance with the present inthere shown, the temple 12 is providedwith an integral flap.

12a which may be secured by mechanical means such as a plastic rivet, orglued by means of an-epoxy resin cement or similar material directly tothe frame 10. By providing the reduced thickness 12b and the slot anintegral'stop is formed at 22 which limits outward movement of thetemples 11,12. The device is entirely without metallic components and,at the same time, provides an inwardly foldable temple construction ofextremely inexpensive manufacture.

It WI" be apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration ofthe embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 through 3 that variations may be madein accordance with the principles of the present invention withoutdeparting from the novel and inventive concepts thereof. For example,the means for securing the resilient headband to the outermost ends ofthe temple may be modified in various ways to provide a pinch-typeattachment. A further embodiment of this device is shown in FIGS. 4,5and 6. As there shown, the enlarged diameter portion of the headband isinitially stretched to pass transversely into the slot 120' in the samemanneras described relative to the passage of resilient portions 17laterally through the slot 20. A reverse bend is applied to the band 180and it is stretched in a rearward direction snapping into longitudinallyextending, vertically opening, slot 121. In this arrangement,-

the portion 120 is pinched, or confined in a slot smaller than its freeor relaxed dimensions, in two directions. It has been found that thisdouble pinch construction provides, again, a system in which theresiliency of the smaller diameter portion of the band 180 provides foran initial stretching to cause loosening of the band with respect to theslots 120, 121 in the temple. It will be noted that no large ball-shapedportions, such as 17a, are provided with headband 180. A headband withsuch balls may, of course, be used with the devices of FIGS. 4, 5 and 6.

It will, of course, be apparent that still other variations may be madewithin the conceptsof the present invention and it is my intent that theinvention by limited solely by that of the hereinafter appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A resilient headband for spectacles or the like comprising a lengthof resilient rubber-like material having its ends of a first diameterand its intermediate portion of a substantially reduced diameter wherebyforces applied to the headband during its use result mainly in anelongation of the intermediate small diameter portion rather than theends of the band.

2. The band structure set forth in claim 1 wherein each of the endportions of the band is provided with a plurality of larger diameterspaced integral projections for positive cooperation with retainingmeans.

3. The band structure of claim 1 wherein the end portions of the bandhave a diameter on the order of 0.060 inches.

4. The band structure of claim 1 wherein the material of the band has adurometer hardness of about 50.

5. The band structure of claim 4 wherein the said material is naturalrubber.

6. The structure of claim 3 wherein the intermediate portion of the bandhas a diameter on the order of0.050 inches.

1. A resilient headband for spectacles or the like comprising a lengthof resilient rubber-like material having its ends of a first diameterand its intermediate portion of a substantially reduced diameter wherebyforces applied to the headband during its use result mainly in anelongation of the intermediate small diameter portion rather than theends of the band.
 2. The band structure set forth in claim 1 whereineach of the end portions of the band is provided with a plurality oflarger diameter spaced integral projections for positive co-operationwith retaining means.
 3. The band structure of claim 1 wherein the endportions of the band have a diameter on the order of 0.060 inches. 4.The band structure of claim 1 wherein the material of the band has adurometer hardness of about
 50. 5. The band structure of claim 4 whereinthe said material is natural rubber.
 6. The structure of claim 3 whereinthe intermediate portion of the band has a diameter on the order of0.050 inches.